Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Comments:
nick: Good - albeit slightly unnerving - pic. Is it your oven Steve?
another good pic here
I just did a zoom with my church house group which seemed to work quite well. One person couldn't get the app working properly and so dialled in on a phone line, and that worked - she appeared as a telephone icon in the room and could hear what everyone was saying even though she couldn't see us.
I'm up for doing more pandemic/crosswords whatever any evening, Thu/Fri from 7 onwards
Steve: Our oven seems slow to heat but does get up to temperature and hold there. You seem to have to set it high then lower it. So I thought I'd have a look at the element. As far as I can see the element is fine, they tend to work or not work, and are not necessarily same colour all round. Thermostat is obviously OK so maybe it is the controller bit.
My family are not wanting me to potentially put our oven out of action at this difficult time so project shelved apart from a new seal!
Tim: Twitter showed me the top half of that pic initially. I stared at it a while, didn't get it. When you see the whole thing it's excellent.
If I join a zoom at 8:30 is that any good or are you likely to stop at e.g. 9?
Tim: Steve, your oven picture is troubling me. Is it taken from near the back door? If not, the kitchen looks back to front or something.
Steve: The picture is still confusing me. I went right up to the oven glass hence the mess. So it is a reflection of the rest of the kitchen, so left-right reversed.
And yes until I expanded the bin photo it was not doing anything for me either!
Yes I'm around later as well.
BTW, interesting fact from Radio4's More or Less Virus Special. Someone's chance of dying is the same as their chance of dying in the next year.
Tim: OK so is there a crossword coming up? And I'm keen on as much Pandemic as you can handle. Or anything else.
nick: How about I do a zoom from 4pm today with the crossword. Join if/when you want. If it's just me though, I don't think I'll get very far!
Tim: I'm still impressed with "number", Nick.
Who can fit in a game of Pandemic? 12 and 4pm look like good times, he says trying to make it sound like there's anything else at all happening here.
2-4 players, or 5 with those extra events in the email.
nick: I just spoke with John who thinks he has covid (and from the symptoms he describes I think he may be right) - he's not been out for a while and will now be at home for another 7 days so he's sent me a shopping list and I'm just off to see if I can fulfil it. I'm a bit worried about Deborah having been stopped for getting more then 3 fruit and veg because he's got quite a lot of those on his list. So maybe I'll need to go to a few different shops
I can be around at 4pm though. It would be good if we could aim for 45-minute games though! I got a bit tired last time
nick: Good game - about an hour and twenty, and we won - that's the first time I've played and beaten the game!
I'm zooming with JohnW tomorrow night, see how he's getting on with his self-isolation, maybe we can do another NST zoom on Tuesday?
I made the mistake of reading one of my work emails today and felt a sinking sensation when I thought of having to go back tomorrow, so it will be good to have something to look forward to
Steve: Yeah sorry I missed that. 3 of us were separately in a Co-Op, no oranges though. And only one soya milk each. But we did get a beans 4-pack, praise the lord.
nick: Heinz???
John asked me to get him beans but all I could find was Sainsbury’s own reduced sugar/salt.
nick: National Theatre are going to stream some of their productions for free starting this Thursday. I'm not sure I'm keen on James Corden but "One Man, Two Guvnors" is supposed to be very good, and it's on this Thursday
Steve: Of course not Heinz. Branston, which are actually fine.
I saw a clip on the news of a ton of Heinz beans at a food bank!
And I tried those reduced sugar ones and had to go back to the standard ones.
See you in October (maybe) according to the latest reports.
Tim: Which reduced sugar ones? Mostly I find them perfectly OK, except Sainsbury's and (especially) Tesco's.
Branston are ace, in both varieties.
nick: We're allowed to play video games now
I'll do a crossword thing at 7pm tonight if anyone wants to join in
Steve: Yes we are in for that thanks.
And it was the Sains reduced sugar that was unbearable.
I'm thinking life's too short so go with the full-fat beans!
nick: yes no problem, I'll start at 8.30
I think the same invite will still work but I'll send another anyway
Tim: I thought that was too obvious to mention.
I've checked my calendar, and tomorrow night I should be entirely free - 4pm onward.
So I'll work around you lot.
nick: Busy tonight and tomorrow but could do a virtual meet up Tuesday evening if people are up for it?
nick: How about you Tim? Lesley says she's up for Pandemic if you want to play that. Or maybe you have some other games available?
Tim: The usual sort of thing:
Reading a sci-fi book at the moment, about a space mission from Earth on a distant planet. Twice people have whipped slide-rules out of their pockets to do calculations. Also one of them needed a map of part of the planet that spanned several individual images from a satellite. Obviously they plonked prints on the floor and matched them up by eye.
nick: what book's that? is it Asimov?
In other news, Tony told me today that Jonny (my other godson) has been accepted to do a PhD in maths at Leiden university in the Netherlands (he'll be finishing his fourth year at Bristol this year, not sure if that's a BSc or ended up being an MSc).
Tim: Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement. I think I mentioned it the other day, but only to say I was reading a random sci-fi "classic". One of many in my backlog.
nick: Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement plot summary on wikipedia sounds interesting so I'll borrow it when you've finished if that's OK
Tim: No probs, I can post it to you if you've cleared your backlog.
No, hang on, here's a tip for you! - Cixin Liu Wandering Earth - start with the second story "Mountain" (the first one is a bit long). Meant to say tat ages ago.
Tim: Tina's just reminded me that I've got a Vuvuzela from South Africa. I'll be whipping it out at 8pm tomorrow!
nick: I'm up for a zoom tomorrow evening if you want. Not sure if Lesley will be available. We'll be making some noise at 8pm but otherwise free
Steve: Sorry, not being watching email or this. Seem to have been busy with work and non work, and Suzanne just moved in which is complicating things. Carry on without me for a bit.
nick: I'm busy this evening but available tomorrow (Thursday). Can do crossword or try Pandemic if there are enough players
nick: Listening to Propaganda's "Wishful Thinking" LP now, which it turns out is 35 years old. It doesn't sound that old, it still sounds "new" to me.
nick: I started to watch Twin at the weekend - Scandi-crime thing which I often like. It was more or less what I expected; amazing landscapes and gloomy weather, with quite a few apparently unrelated story threads that I assume will get connected/fleshed out. At the end it prompts you to watch the next episode, and at that point I realised I had been watching episode 6.
I subsequently watched episode 1 which seems a lot more straightforward, to the point of boring. Not sure if I'll watch the other episodes.
Is everyone around for a game of Pandemic+ on Tuesday night?
Steve: Yes I'll be there.
And tonight's vinyl playlist: Human League Dare and ABWH. Both lovely, but W's contributions are awful.
I saw Twin but couldn't face something about twins, I get bogged down with thinking about them being played by one person all the time, and how they have to make them different.
If you want an iPlayer film - A Simple Plan is very good.
nick: Talking of twins - by coincidence I saw this tweet today showing how they used Linda Hamilton’s twin sister (no, I didn’t know she had one either) for a brief scene in one of the terminator movies
nick: Tony messaged me yesterday saying "Looking forward to sceptics on Thursday and brand x sunday? :-("
Both those are cancelled, as is the Randonnee which would also have been on Sunday.
But it reminded me that I had, in anticipation of being tired, booked next Monday as holiday, so next week is a short work week for me (bank holiday on the Friday).
I'll do a pandemic invite for 7.30pm. Might try and do a bike ride before that but it looks a bit rainy
nick: This was a quote from the Chernobyl book I'm reading that I think I mentioned. About the bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima: The bomb itself was extremely inefficient: just one kilogram of the uranium underwent fission, and only seven hundred milligrams of mass—the weight of a butterfly—was converted into energy. But it was enough to obliterate an entire city in a fraction of a second.
To say it was an accident waiting to happen is understating it - from the book, the amount of things they did wrong is staggering, before they even got to the night of the accident itself.
Wouldn't mind watching the Chernobyl TV series although looks like I have to pay for it
Tim: 700mg of Uranium is 0.03675 cc apparently. So, er, how big is that? 37 cubic millimetres, I think. A cube 3.3 mm each side?
Steve: Does anyone else have this, it keeps happening to me.
I get an album I really like and buy a second one and it's just more of the same.
This never used to be a problem but is pretty constant now.
nick: Yes a bit. Most recently I shazam'd something in a cafe and it turned out to be a track by "Nightmares on Wax" so I got the album and quite liked it (it's a little bit Lemon Jelly). There are loads more by the same guy but they all sound the same
Steve: Ok thanks, not just me then.
But it must be an age thing as it was never like this years ago.
Good point on books, although I suffer a lot less with that.
Almost at the end of the Cormac McCarthy trilogy which has been a struggle but it's to be able to chuck it!
I thought I tried a Nightmares on Wax a while back and didn't like it, and got rid.
nick: I'm guessing I did see him once though, at RFH
Interesting column in the Guardian about him/Kraftwerk
nick: Listening to Glassworks at the moment and "Opening" is just so lovely. I remember when I was having piano lessons, I played this to my teacher and he sat at his piano and played it back straight away (a bit like the scene in Amadeus when Mozart plays the tune by Salieri after one hearing), so I assume it's not terrifically complicated, but it just sounds so nice
nick: Trading Standards squad targets anti-5G USB stick
"Now, we're not 5G quantum experts but said sticker looks remarkably like one available in sheets from stationery suppliers for less than a penny each,"
Steve: Yes I saw that memory stick.
We watched an article on 5G and apparently it directs the beam at your phone to get better signal using phase altering! This is why they need more local masts as they work together on this.
Tim: You fans of Nightmares on Wax (or OPN or Autechre etc.) might want a squint at the Bleep/Warp sale.
nick: Trust British consumers to choose whether to buy US chlorinated chicken, Tory minister says. Great, so we *are* going to allow import of chlorinated chicken then
Tim: I just checked the Tory manifesto: "In all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards"
nick: Just sent this to my MP. This is the fourth email I've sent over the last couple of weeks. The first was about Cummings, and received a stock reply (Lesley got exactly the same reply when she mailed him). I've not had answers to either of the other two, so don't particularly hold out hope for this one either
Hi Kit Malthouse
In the 2019 Conservative manifesto, you say
"In all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental
protection, animal welfare and food standards."
Theresa Villiers, when interviewed in January, said "we will not be importing
chlorinated chicken"
https://twitter.com/BBCCountryfile/status/1215284448129880066?s=20
However, it now appears from multiple newspaper reports, e.g.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/chlorinated-chicken-british-markets-us-trade-deal-trump-a9548431.html
that you ARE planning to allow the import of chlorinated chicken.
This does not look good. What is your reaction to this, and can you provide
any justification for this apparent U-turn?
Tim: I had a look at the Visit Cape Wrath site.
Q. How do I obtain an update on ferry times?
A. The time of the next sailing will be written on the noticeboard at Keoldale jetty for you to check.
That sounds mighty convenient.
Steve: I had a quick look at that article. Was a short ride on rough tracks?
Got 7 days off work, what to do...
nick: I've got some days to use up before end of June so am looking to see when is the best weather.
I suppose we could all co-ordinate a joint bike ride, although I can't see how we'd do it without using cars to drive to a common start/end point
nick: Exciting news for Tim: TV adaptation of Foundation which looks a bit more modern and hi-tech than the novels felt.
Steve: Tim, did you lend me Primo Levi's The Periodic Table?
I'm working my way through it and wondered what to do after I finish it?
(In parts brilliant but very hard going in others.)
A Radio4 programme on it spurred me to knock it out.
nick: Our office currently just has one person in every day and have done planning for how things will be arranged when a larger number (but not all) office workers will come back. But currently the expectation is that that won't start to happen until mid-late September (this may change)
I may be in a bit of a twitter echo chamber but the people I'm seeing commenting seem all to think that lockdown has been eased much too early and we're in for another big wave in autumn/winter. OTOH it's very hard to think that govt would be so incompetent/malicious as to ignore that risk if it was a real one. I don't know who to believe!
Steve: Got to get people working again and take casualties I assume is the method. We can't keep 2m locked down until we get a vaccine.
Lock-down suits me, and the ridiculous effort that shopping entails has negated any slight inkling I had to even get books from charity shops.
Although I am also put off of leisure train travel if you have to wear a mask.
nick: Yes, I did visit town last week to get some stuff from Wilkinsons and it's a not very pleasant experience, loads of one-way walking passages and queues to get in shops.
I am pretty comfortable with lockdown apart from limited ability to socialise and was a bit surprised at my feeling of disappointment when they announced the changes on 4-July for extra freedom and "getting back to normal". I've also been taken aback by how many people seem to want to go on holiday: I already wasn't bothered about pubs/flying anywhere and assumed that everyone else would now think the same as me ("why on earth would you want to do that?")
I bought a couple of things from https://hive.co.uk after someone suggested them as a slightly more ethical alternative to amazon. They are mostly more expensive, but not always, and I got a Nils Frahm CD and also Chernobyl DVD which I'll watch before sending to Tony as a birthday present.
Steve: Yeah I had found Hive before. Prices for CDs not terrible.
There was a great article on Bandcamp in the Guardian last week. They get 15% which seems a lot for running a web site!
I have found a couple of albums I've been on the lookout for for ages. Gradually getting used to not having physical product as I stream 99% of the time now.
Tim: I've been getting a lot of books from Blackwell's recently, not sure if that helps anything at all but still.
Also, Friday will be a 100%-goes-to-the-artists day at Bandcamp. First Friday of every month recently.
Steve: Yeah saw that. No theatre can continue can it?
BTW I can't see we will be cycling 20th July if you want to get some holiday back Nick. Not sure whether to keep the days off or not.
nick: BTW I can't see we will be cycling 20th July if you want to get some holiday back Nick. Not sure whether to keep the days off or not.
I think I'm going to leave it booked - they've asked us not to hoard holidays so in the spirit of trying to set an example to my team I'll probably take it. Maybe I'll cycle to Luton and back.
It's Tony's birthday that week so we're booked in for a curry at his favourite restaurant (Coriander Lounge in Southampton) on the Wednesday. I wonder what that will be like.
Lesley's chopped most of my beard off and I'm going to shave the rest. Already it feels quite a lot better; it's good to know I could grow one if I wanted, but it felt increasingly scruffy and unpleasant.
Steve: I rang our local curry house to ask about the content, and had no confidence at all that the vegetable curry is vegan.
We have had it as a takeaway twice (Suzanne pays in lieu of rent I assume), but I think I'm going to pass in future. I don't trust them, and it's not a very interesting meal!
I never got used to having a beard, although I'm only shaving twice a week currently.
nick: I rang our local curry house to ask about the content, and had no confidence at all that the vegetable curry is vegan
They definitely vary. Some I've called say "yes, yes, yes, all vegetarian, yes yes" and don't seem to understand when you talk about vegan; one said "nothing on the menu is vegan, sorry" (even rice?) and some are really on top of it and have specifically vegan menu options.
It's funny because when this kicked off and lockdown started, I said to Tony "when this finishes we'll go out and celebrate with a big curry" but now it doesn't seem quite so tempting, with the various restrictions still in place. I suppose it hasn't really "finished" yet, and it was probably wrong to imagine there would be an "on-switch" moment to mirror the "off-switch" of lockdown starting.
nick: Tim
H
BIRTHDAY
P
P
Y
(it has taken me some time to get that lined up right in the "preview" window; I hope it works properly on the blog)
Tim: Yes it's a bit wonky which ruined my day completely.
Faintly related to crosswords I just ordered a copy of this thing called Cain's Jawbone, heard of it? Not that I'm expecting to make much sense of it.
Tim: ...and both cards just plopped through the letter box - cheers!
Steve, those album covers are more familiar than normal because I recently finished ripping my Fax collection. Easy to do while working from home.
Steve: A lovely project, and don't forget to use Mp3tag to tidy up any missing embedded images etc.
I use Exact Audio Copy and had to make a recent config change to get metadata from a different provider as the previous one was switched off.
Tim: I've been using EAC but without really knowing how it works. So, from what you say, I'm guessing lack of config has meant it gives me a choice of metadata for each disc and I randomly pick one. I'll give mp3tag a look.
I started with Fax, then did Elektrolux, then Rather Interesting. The surprising thing was the much higher incidence of error-checking and uncorrectable errors on the Elektrolux discs (usually the last track), and not down to fingerprints etc. No idea whether any of that would be audible differences, I haven't checked.
nick: I have next Mon/Tue/Wed as holiday (for the postponed cycle ride with Steve and sons). Anyone else got that time off and fancy doing anything?
Tim: I'm working. Also still a bit doubtful about this meeting-up-with-people idea, how's that supposed to work then?
Also Mon-Wed isn't cheap tucker yet ;-)
Steve: Yeah I'm staying pretty locked down for the foreseeable.
Might look at camping as you are using your own stuff and nicely apart from others except for ablutions.
Twice now I've worn a mask in a shop - urgh, feel so awkward.
And I've not done anything so have no news :)
When EAC goes into error-correction it is truly painful as it takes ages. I'm sure most errors are unhearable but it's *Exact* Audio Copy so is doing its best. We all know the audio error correction is not as good as CD-ROM.
Must be CD rot.
I use Mp3tag when it can't find a suitable cover and add it after the rip. It's very rare EAC can't work out the disk and tracks.
nick: Camping would worry me from the point of view of shared shower etc. facilities - that seems like it would be infection-central. But I guess they'd have loads of hand sprays etc.
I am considering cycling to Exeter next week (and having Lesley bring me back). You're "allowed" to go in someone's home as long as you don't get too close to them although...thinking about it...maybe it's not such a good idea as I'd be needing a shower. Bother.
nick: National Theatre is streaming Amadeus from tonight for a week. I really liked the film so will be interested to watch this. I wonder what they do about the music? That was quite a fundamental part of the film but I don't know if they'll have an orchestra/opera singers in the play
Steve: I saw a version in Luton Library theatre ages ago. Yes it is excellent.
We are watching US cop drama The Shield which is occupying us. I'm going to be bereft when we finish it this week.
Tim: Music news you'll be excited about: Max Richter Voices out next week.
Oddly it's a 2CD, one with the talking and one without. Could be a great move, or just a distracting decision that needs making each time.
Tim: I noticed a recent release of Steve Reich's 18 Musicians and accidentally bought a copy. (It's got a nice cover, plus I can lend it out. IT'S GOT TO STOP!)
The guy has recorded it on his own with mostly lots of keyboards multitracked.
Turns out to sound quite like the original, hmph.
nick: There's also a Sleep iphone app. But it needs to connect to spotify to use it and I don't have a spotify premium account
Had JohnW round for dinner (in the garden) this week as it was his birthday. Lesley cooked him a vegan shepherd's pie and we had edamame beans which he'd not come across before so he's since added them to his shopping list.
And the next day out for a birthday curry with Tony at the Coriander. They make you use hand sanitiser on your way in and also have a temperature check (with one of those things that points at your forehead). I was 36.3C which I think is OK.
It didn't feel too different in there - only half as many tables, and the waiters all wearing masks, but the food was as good as ever and it wasn't so noisy. Didn't notice the German bierkeller.
Requirement for masks from today makes going to shops even less appealing. But might be going to Halfords to pick up a child seat so I can take Spencer out on the bike: they do one that fits on a pannier. He's started saying consonants in the last couple of weeks which mostly are "B" or "G" (which I'm a bit surprised about because I'd have thought "M" would be easiest). Ella's excited for the first "mama"
Good to see Paul out on his bike doing some long rides.
Can do a zoom tomorrow evening if anyone's up for it
Tim: I could fit it in tonight but Tuesday(/whenever) works better. I don't want to miss out on a session of riotous fun though.
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nick: Good - albeit slightly unnerving - pic. Is it your oven Steve?another good pic here
I just did a zoom with my church house group which seemed to work quite well. One person couldn't get the app working properly and so dialled in on a phone line, and that worked - she appeared as a telephone icon in the room and could hear what everyone was saying even though she couldn't see us.
I'm up for doing more pandemic/crosswords whatever any evening, Thu/Fri from 7 onwards
Steve: Our oven seems slow to heat but does get up to temperature and hold there. You seem to have to set it high then lower it. So I thought I'd have a look at the element. As far as I can see the element is fine, they tend to work or not work, and are not necessarily same colour all round. Thermostat is obviously OK so maybe it is the controller bit.My family are not wanting me to potentially put our oven out of action at this difficult time so project shelved apart from a new seal!
Tim: Twitter showed me the top half of that pic initially. I stared at it a while, didn't get it. When you see the whole thing it's excellent.If I join a zoom at 8:30 is that any good or are you likely to stop at e.g. 9?
Tim: Steve, your oven picture is troubling me. Is it taken from near the back door? If not, the kitchen looks back to front or something. Steve: The picture is still confusing me. I went right up to the oven glass hence the mess. So it is a reflection of the rest of the kitchen, so left-right reversed.And yes until I expanded the bin photo it was not doing anything for me either!
Yes I'm around later as well.
BTW, interesting fact from Radio4's More or Less Virus Special. Someone's chance of dying is the same as their chance of dying in the next year.
Tim: OK so is there a crossword coming up? And I'm keen on as much Pandemic as you can handle. Or anything else. nick: How about I do a zoom from 4pm today with the crossword. Join if/when you want. If it's just me though, I don't think I'll get very far! Tim: I'm still impressed with "number", Nick.Who can fit in a game of Pandemic? 12 and 4pm look like good times, he says trying to make it sound like there's anything else at all happening here.
2-4 players, or 5 with those extra events in the email.
nick: I just spoke with John who thinks he has covid (and from the symptoms he describes I think he may be right) - he's not been out for a while and will now be at home for another 7 days so he's sent me a shopping list and I'm just off to see if I can fulfil it. I'm a bit worried about Deborah having been stopped for getting more then 3 fruit and veg because he's got quite a lot of those on his list. So maybe I'll need to go to a few different shopsI can be around at 4pm though. It would be good if we could aim for 45-minute games though! I got a bit tired last time
nick: Good game - about an hour and twenty, and we won - that's the first time I've played and beaten the game!I'm zooming with JohnW tomorrow night, see how he's getting on with his self-isolation, maybe we can do another NST zoom on Tuesday?
I made the mistake of reading one of my work emails today and felt a sinking sensation when I thought of having to go back tomorrow, so it will be good to have something to look forward to
Steve: Yeah sorry I missed that. 3 of us were separately in a Co-Op, no oranges though. And only one soya milk each. But we did get a beans 4-pack, praise the lord. nick: Heinz???John asked me to get him beans but all I could find was Sainsbury’s own reduced sugar/salt.
nick: National Theatre are going to stream some of their productions for free starting this Thursday. I'm not sure I'm keen on James Corden but "One Man, Two Guvnors" is supposed to be very good, and it's on this Thursday Steve: Of course not Heinz. Branston, which are actually fine.I saw a clip on the news of a ton of Heinz beans at a food bank!
And I tried those reduced sugar ones and had to go back to the standard ones.
See you in October (maybe) according to the latest reports.
Tim: Which reduced sugar ones? Mostly I find them perfectly OK, except Sainsbury's and (especially) Tesco's.Branston are ace, in both varieties.
nick: We're allowed to play video games nowI'll do a crossword thing at 7pm tonight if anyone wants to join in
Steve: Yes we are in for that thanks.And it was the Sains reduced sugar that was unbearable.
I'm thinking life's too short so go with the full-fat beans!
nick: yes no problem, I'll start at 8.30I think the same invite will still work but I'll send another anyway
Tim: I thought that was too obvious to mention.I've checked my calendar, and tomorrow night I should be entirely free - 4pm onward.
So I'll work around you lot.
nick: Busy tonight and tomorrow but could do a virtual meet up Tuesday evening if people are up for it? nick: How about you Tim? Lesley says she's up for Pandemic if you want to play that. Or maybe you have some other games available? Tim: The usual sort of thing:Reading a sci-fi book at the moment, about a space mission from Earth on a distant planet. Twice people have whipped slide-rules out of their pockets to do calculations. Also one of them needed a map of part of the planet that spanned several individual images from a satellite. Obviously they plonked prints on the floor and matched them up by eye.
nick: what book's that? is it Asimov?In other news, Tony told me today that Jonny (my other godson) has been accepted to do a PhD in maths at Leiden university in the Netherlands (he'll be finishing his fourth year at Bristol this year, not sure if that's a BSc or ended up being an MSc).
Tim: Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement. I think I mentioned it the other day, but only to say I was reading a random sci-fi "classic". One of many in my backlog. nick: Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement plot summary on wikipedia sounds interesting so I'll borrow it when you've finished if that's OK Tim: No probs, I can post it to you if you've cleared your backlog.No, hang on, here's a tip for you! - Cixin Liu Wandering Earth - start with the second story "Mountain" (the first one is a bit long). Meant to say tat ages ago.
Tim: Tina's just reminded me that I've got a Vuvuzela from South Africa. I'll be whipping it out at 8pm tomorrow! nick: I'm up for a zoom tomorrow evening if you want. Not sure if Lesley will be available. We'll be making some noise at 8pm but otherwise free Steve: Sorry, not being watching email or this. Seem to have been busy with work and non work, and Suzanne just moved in which is complicating things. Carry on without me for a bit. nick: I'm busy this evening but available tomorrow (Thursday). Can do crossword or try Pandemic if there are enough players nick: Listening to Propaganda's "Wishful Thinking" LP now, which it turns out is 35 years old. It doesn't sound that old, it still sounds "new" to me. nick: I started to watch Twin at the weekend - Scandi-crime thing which I often like. It was more or less what I expected; amazing landscapes and gloomy weather, with quite a few apparently unrelated story threads that I assume will get connected/fleshed out. At the end it prompts you to watch the next episode, and at that point I realised I had been watching episode 6.I subsequently watched episode 1 which seems a lot more straightforward, to the point of boring. Not sure if I'll watch the other episodes.
Is everyone around for a game of Pandemic+ on Tuesday night?
Steve: Yes I'll be there.And tonight's vinyl playlist: Human League Dare and ABWH. Both lovely, but W's contributions are awful.
I saw Twin but couldn't face something about twins, I get bogged down with thinking about them being played by one person all the time, and how they have to make them different.
If you want an iPlayer film - A Simple Plan is very good.
nick: Talking of twins - by coincidence I saw this tweet today showing how they used Linda Hamilton’s twin sister (no, I didn’t know she had one either) for a brief scene in one of the terminator movies nick: Tony messaged me yesterday saying "Looking forward to sceptics on Thursday and brand x sunday? :-("Both those are cancelled, as is the Randonnee which would also have been on Sunday.
But it reminded me that I had, in anticipation of being tired, booked next Monday as holiday, so next week is a short work week for me (bank holiday on the Friday).
I'll do a pandemic invite for 7.30pm. Might try and do a bike ride before that but it looks a bit rainy
nick: This was a quote from the Chernobyl book I'm reading that I think I mentioned. About the bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima: The bomb itself was extremely inefficient: just one kilogram of the uranium underwent fission, and only seven hundred milligrams of mass—the weight of a butterfly—was converted into energy. But it was enough to obliterate an entire city in a fraction of a second.To say it was an accident waiting to happen is understating it - from the book, the amount of things they did wrong is staggering, before they even got to the night of the accident itself.
Wouldn't mind watching the Chernobyl TV series although looks like I have to pay for it
Tim: 700mg of Uranium is 0.03675 cc apparently. So, er, how big is that? 37 cubic millimetres, I think. A cube 3.3 mm each side? Steve: Does anyone else have this, it keeps happening to me.I get an album I really like and buy a second one and it's just more of the same.
This never used to be a problem but is pretty constant now.
nick: Yes a bit. Most recently I shazam'd something in a cafe and it turned out to be a track by "Nightmares on Wax" so I got the album and quite liked it (it's a little bit Lemon Jelly). There are loads more by the same guy but they all sound the same Steve: Ok thanks, not just me then.But it must be an age thing as it was never like this years ago.
Good point on books, although I suffer a lot less with that.
Almost at the end of the Cormac McCarthy trilogy which has been a struggle but it's to be able to chuck it!
I thought I tried a Nightmares on Wax a while back and didn't like it, and got rid.
nick: I'm guessing I did see him once though, at RFHInteresting column in the Guardian about him/Kraftwerk
nick: Listening to Glassworks at the moment and "Opening" is just so lovely. I remember when I was having piano lessons, I played this to my teacher and he sat at his piano and played it back straight away (a bit like the scene in Amadeus when Mozart plays the tune by Salieri after one hearing), so I assume it's not terrifically complicated, but it just sounds so nice nick: Trading Standards squad targets anti-5G USB stick"Now, we're not 5G quantum experts but said sticker looks remarkably like one available in sheets from stationery suppliers for less than a penny each,"
Steve: Yes I saw that memory stick.We watched an article on 5G and apparently it directs the beam at your phone to get better signal using phase altering! This is why they need more local masts as they work together on this.
Tim: You fans of Nightmares on Wax (or OPN or Autechre etc.) might want a squint at the Bleep/Warp sale. nick: Trust British consumers to choose whether to buy US chlorinated chicken, Tory minister says. Great, so we *are* going to allow import of chlorinated chicken then Tim: I just checked the Tory manifesto: "In all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards" nick: Just sent this to my MP. This is the fourth email I've sent over the last couple of weeks. The first was about Cummings, and received a stock reply (Lesley got exactly the same reply when she mailed him). I've not had answers to either of the other two, so don't particularly hold out hope for this one eitherHi Kit Malthouse
In the 2019 Conservative manifesto, you say
"In all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental
protection, animal welfare and food standards."
Theresa Villiers, when interviewed in January, said "we will not be importing
chlorinated chicken"
https://twitter.com/BBCCountryfile/status/1215284448129880066?s=20
However, it now appears from multiple newspaper reports, e.g.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/chlorinated-chicken-british-markets-us-trade-deal-trump-a9548431.html
that you ARE planning to allow the import of chlorinated chicken.
This does not look good. What is your reaction to this, and can you provide
any justification for this apparent U-turn?
Tim: I had a look at the Visit Cape Wrath site.Q. How do I obtain an update on ferry times?
A. The time of the next sailing will be written on the noticeboard at Keoldale jetty for you to check.
That sounds mighty convenient.
Steve: I had a quick look at that article. Was a short ride on rough tracks?Got 7 days off work, what to do...
nick: I've got some days to use up before end of June so am looking to see when is the best weather.I suppose we could all co-ordinate a joint bike ride, although I can't see how we'd do it without using cars to drive to a common start/end point
nick: Exciting news for Tim: TV adaptation of Foundation which looks a bit more modern and hi-tech than the novels felt. Steve: Tim, did you lend me Primo Levi's The Periodic Table?I'm working my way through it and wondered what to do after I finish it?
(In parts brilliant but very hard going in others.)
A Radio4 programme on it spurred me to knock it out.
nick: Our office currently just has one person in every day and have done planning for how things will be arranged when a larger number (but not all) office workers will come back. But currently the expectation is that that won't start to happen until mid-late September (this may change)I may be in a bit of a twitter echo chamber but the people I'm seeing commenting seem all to think that lockdown has been eased much too early and we're in for another big wave in autumn/winter. OTOH it's very hard to think that govt would be so incompetent/malicious as to ignore that risk if it was a real one. I don't know who to believe!
Steve: Got to get people working again and take casualties I assume is the method. We can't keep 2m locked down until we get a vaccine.Lock-down suits me, and the ridiculous effort that shopping entails has negated any slight inkling I had to even get books from charity shops.
Although I am also put off of leisure train travel if you have to wear a mask.
nick: Yes, I did visit town last week to get some stuff from Wilkinsons and it's a not very pleasant experience, loads of one-way walking passages and queues to get in shops. I am pretty comfortable with lockdown apart from limited ability to socialise and was a bit surprised at my feeling of disappointment when they announced the changes on 4-July for extra freedom and "getting back to normal". I've also been taken aback by how many people seem to want to go on holiday: I already wasn't bothered about pubs/flying anywhere and assumed that everyone else would now think the same as me ("why on earth would you want to do that?")
I bought a couple of things from https://hive.co.uk after someone suggested them as a slightly more ethical alternative to amazon. They are mostly more expensive, but not always, and I got a Nils Frahm CD and also Chernobyl DVD which I'll watch before sending to Tony as a birthday present.
Steve: Yeah I had found Hive before. Prices for CDs not terrible.There was a great article on Bandcamp in the Guardian last week. They get 15% which seems a lot for running a web site!
I have found a couple of albums I've been on the lookout for for ages. Gradually getting used to not having physical product as I stream 99% of the time now.
Tim: I've been getting a lot of books from Blackwell's recently, not sure if that helps anything at all but still.Also, Friday will be a 100%-goes-to-the-artists day at Bandcamp. First Friday of every month recently.
Steve: Yeah saw that. No theatre can continue can it?BTW I can't see we will be cycling 20th July if you want to get some holiday back Nick. Not sure whether to keep the days off or not.
nick: BTW I can't see we will be cycling 20th July if you want to get some holiday back Nick. Not sure whether to keep the days off or not.I think I'm going to leave it booked - they've asked us not to hoard holidays so in the spirit of trying to set an example to my team I'll probably take it. Maybe I'll cycle to Luton and back.
It's Tony's birthday that week so we're booked in for a curry at his favourite restaurant (Coriander Lounge in Southampton) on the Wednesday. I wonder what that will be like.
Lesley's chopped most of my beard off and I'm going to shave the rest. Already it feels quite a lot better; it's good to know I could grow one if I wanted, but it felt increasingly scruffy and unpleasant.
Steve: I rang our local curry house to ask about the content, and had no confidence at all that the vegetable curry is vegan.We have had it as a takeaway twice (Suzanne pays in lieu of rent I assume), but I think I'm going to pass in future. I don't trust them, and it's not a very interesting meal!
I never got used to having a beard, although I'm only shaving twice a week currently.
nick: I rang our local curry house to ask about the content, and had no confidence at all that the vegetable curry is veganThey definitely vary. Some I've called say "yes, yes, yes, all vegetarian, yes yes" and don't seem to understand when you talk about vegan; one said "nothing on the menu is vegan, sorry" (even rice?) and some are really on top of it and have specifically vegan menu options.
It's funny because when this kicked off and lockdown started, I said to Tony "when this finishes we'll go out and celebrate with a big curry" but now it doesn't seem quite so tempting, with the various restrictions still in place. I suppose it hasn't really "finished" yet, and it was probably wrong to imagine there would be an "on-switch" moment to mirror the "off-switch" of lockdown starting.
nick: TimH
BIRTHDAY
P
P
Y
(it has taken me some time to get that lined up right in the "preview" window; I hope it works properly on the blog)
Tim: Yes it's a bit wonky which ruined my day completely.Faintly related to crosswords I just ordered a copy of this thing called Cain's Jawbone, heard of it? Not that I'm expecting to make much sense of it.
Tim: ...and both cards just plopped through the letter box - cheers!Steve, those album covers are more familiar than normal because I recently finished ripping my Fax collection. Easy to do while working from home.
Steve: A lovely project, and don't forget to use Mp3tag to tidy up any missing embedded images etc.I use Exact Audio Copy and had to make a recent config change to get metadata from a different provider as the previous one was switched off.
Tim: I've been using EAC but without really knowing how it works. So, from what you say, I'm guessing lack of config has meant it gives me a choice of metadata for each disc and I randomly pick one. I'll give mp3tag a look.I started with Fax, then did Elektrolux, then Rather Interesting. The surprising thing was the much higher incidence of error-checking and uncorrectable errors on the Elektrolux discs (usually the last track), and not down to fingerprints etc. No idea whether any of that would be audible differences, I haven't checked.
nick: I have next Mon/Tue/Wed as holiday (for the postponed cycle ride with Steve and sons). Anyone else got that time off and fancy doing anything? Tim: I'm working. Also still a bit doubtful about this meeting-up-with-people idea, how's that supposed to work then?Also Mon-Wed isn't cheap tucker yet ;-)
Steve: Yeah I'm staying pretty locked down for the foreseeable.Might look at camping as you are using your own stuff and nicely apart from others except for ablutions.
Twice now I've worn a mask in a shop - urgh, feel so awkward.
And I've not done anything so have no news :)
When EAC goes into error-correction it is truly painful as it takes ages. I'm sure most errors are unhearable but it's *Exact* Audio Copy so is doing its best. We all know the audio error correction is not as good as CD-ROM.
Must be CD rot.
I use Mp3tag when it can't find a suitable cover and add it after the rip. It's very rare EAC can't work out the disk and tracks.
nick: Camping would worry me from the point of view of shared shower etc. facilities - that seems like it would be infection-central. But I guess they'd have loads of hand sprays etc.I am considering cycling to Exeter next week (and having Lesley bring me back). You're "allowed" to go in someone's home as long as you don't get too close to them although...thinking about it...maybe it's not such a good idea as I'd be needing a shower. Bother.
nick: National Theatre is streaming Amadeus from tonight for a week. I really liked the film so will be interested to watch this. I wonder what they do about the music? That was quite a fundamental part of the film but I don't know if they'll have an orchestra/opera singers in the play Steve: I saw a version in Luton Library theatre ages ago. Yes it is excellent.We are watching US cop drama The Shield which is occupying us. I'm going to be bereft when we finish it this week.
Tim: Music news you'll be excited about: Max Richter Voices out next week.Oddly it's a 2CD, one with the talking and one without. Could be a great move, or just a distracting decision that needs making each time.
Tim: I noticed a recent release of Steve Reich's 18 Musicians and accidentally bought a copy. (It's got a nice cover, plus I can lend it out. IT'S GOT TO STOP!) The guy has recorded it on his own with mostly lots of keyboards multitracked.
Turns out to sound quite like the original, hmph.
nick: There's also a Sleep iphone app. But it needs to connect to spotify to use it and I don't have a spotify premium accountHad JohnW round for dinner (in the garden) this week as it was his birthday. Lesley cooked him a vegan shepherd's pie and we had edamame beans which he'd not come across before so he's since added them to his shopping list.
And the next day out for a birthday curry with Tony at the Coriander. They make you use hand sanitiser on your way in and also have a temperature check (with one of those things that points at your forehead). I was 36.3C which I think is OK.
It didn't feel too different in there - only half as many tables, and the waiters all wearing masks, but the food was as good as ever and it wasn't so noisy. Didn't notice the German bierkeller.
Requirement for masks from today makes going to shops even less appealing. But might be going to Halfords to pick up a child seat so I can take Spencer out on the bike: they do one that fits on a pannier. He's started saying consonants in the last couple of weeks which mostly are "B" or "G" (which I'm a bit surprised about because I'd have thought "M" would be easiest). Ella's excited for the first "mama"
Good to see Paul out on his bike doing some long rides.
Can do a zoom tomorrow evening if anyone's up for it
Tim: I could fit it in tonight but Tuesday(/whenever) works better. I don't want to miss out on a session of riotous fun though.<< Home
